Thank you for downloading AXPack1 Family!
newObjects ActiveX Pack1 Family is referred in various documents shortly as AXPack1 Family or also simply as AXPack1.
The newObjects ActiveX Pack1 Family contains the following components:
The table below lists the most important downloads that you may need. For Samples and other supplementary materials see on the AXPack1 Family site.
| Package | Description | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Combined packages | ||
| AXPack1PC | Installation for PC-s only (no CE
binaries included), small set of samples, SDK files. Includes: AXPack1 core, NetStreams, SQLite COM and Micro Script Host. |
ZIP, EXE (SFX Install) |
| AXPack1 | Installation for PC and Pocket PC, small
set of samples, SDK files Includes: AXPack1 core, NetStreams, SQLite COM and Micro Script Host. |
ZIP, EXE (SFX Install) |
| Documentation (must be downloaded separately!) | ||
| NDL | newObjects Development Library. Contains
combined documentation for AXPack1 Family, products using it and other
products and components in a single CHM file. Note: The download includes installer which will place the CHM file and create a shortcut to it in the Start menu. |
ZIP, EXE (SFX Install) |
| Pocket PC CAB files | ||
| ARM | Direct installation on any Pocket PC
(incl. 2002, 2003/SE, 2005 and later) device with ARM compatible CPU. Includes
small set of samples running under Micro Script Host. Includes: AXPack1 core, NetStreams, SQLite COM and Micro Script Host. |
CAB |
| MIPS | Direct installation on any Pocket PC
device with MIPS compatible CPU. Includes small set of samples running
under Micro Script Host. Includes: AXPack1 core, NetStreams, SQLite COM and Micro Script Host. |
CAB |
| SH3 | Direct installation on any Pocket PC
device with SH3 compatible CPU. Includes small set of samples running
under Micro Script Host. Includes: AXPack1 core, NetStreams, SQLite COM and Micro Script Host. |
CAB |
| Binaries for various platforms | ||
| These archives contain the
binary files only. They are intended mostly for the developers who need to
integrate them into the setup packages of their applications. Through
nwMicroHost.exe the pack can be manually installed on any compatible
device - unpack all files in an empty directory (can be on a memory card).
Run nwMicroHost.exe and use "Register COM DLL" from the Tools
menu to register all the DLL you are going to use. Note: There is currently no need of special versions for Windows CE 5.0 and later. The binaries for CE.NET 4.2 work fine on Windows CE 5.0 and later. To keep the number of the binaries as small as possible we will publish special versions for newer Windows CE versions only if they need special features not found in the previous OS versions. |
||
| PC | The binary files only (DLL and EXE) for PC (desktops) | ZIP |
| CE.NET 4.20/CE.NET 5.0 and above |
The binary files only (DLL and EXE) for CE.NET 4.2 and later based devices (Tablets, handheld PC-s with or without keyboards and so on). The only requirement is standard SDK support which is available on almost any device. Note that the arm4 version of these binaries will work also on Windows Mobile 2003 (Pocket PC 2003/Smartphone 2003)** and later. |
ZIP -
ARM4, |
| Pocket PC | The binary files only (DLL and EXE) for
Pocket PC (all versions - Pocket PC 2000,2002, Windows Mobile 2003, 2005).
Although there are special versions for Pocket PC 2002 and Pocket PC 2003 and later there is no actual need to use them. The Pocket PC versions will work on all the Pocket PC devices. |
ZIP
- ARM, ZIP - MIPS, ZIP - SH3 ZIP
- ARM PPC 2002 and later (special edition)* |
| SmartPhone 2003 | The binary files only (DLL and EXE) for
Smartphone 2003, 2005 and later. The nwMicroHost.exe in this package is especially adapted to Smartphone devices. |
ZIP - ARM |
| CE 3.0 | The binary files only (DLL and EXE) for Windows CE 3.0 non-Pocket PC devices (for example Handheld PC, tablets and so on) | ZIP
- ARM, ZIP - MIPS, ZIP - X86 |
| Tools | ||
| SQLite DB Managers | Database managers for SQLite2 (UTF-8)
and SQLite3 (UTF-8) databases. The package is installable and
contains two applications SQLite2 DB Manager and SQLite3 DB Manager. The package installs the new SQLite3 COM ActiveX (SQlite3 database and COM interface to it). The ActiveX has the same interface as the SQLite COM ActiveX |
EXE
(SFX Install) ZIP |
| Old versions and binaries for OS versions not officially supported | ||
| CE.NET | Version 2.4.2: The binary files only (DLL and EXE) for
CE.NET 4.0 and later based devices (Tablets, handheld PC-s with or without
keyboards and so on). The only requirement is standard SDK support which
is available on almost any device. Note that the arm4 version of these
binaries will work also on Windows Mobile 2003 (Pocket PC 2003/Smartphone
2003)** and later.
|
ZIP
- ARM4, ZIP - ARM4i, ZIP - ARM4t, ZIP - MIPS16, ZIP - MIPSII, ZIP - MIPSIV, ZIP - SH3, ZIP - SH4, ZIP - X86 |
| SQLite DBMan | SQLite Database Manager
application for PC (desktops). The application is built with ALP (Active
Local Pages) and carries the ALP re-distributable files. The package
carries own copies of the AXPack1 files needed, but uses them privately not
replacing, nor registering them on your system. The
installation only copies the application in a directory created for it and
places shortcuts in the Start menu and desktop. The SQLite DB Manager allows you create/manage databases for SQLite COM database, create database designs for your applications and so on. Note: If you plan or have installed a development oriented package of ALP 1.2 or later there is no need to download this, because the database manager is included in ALP 1.2 developer oriented downloads. |
ZIP, EXE (SFX Install) |
| newObjects
Products/Development environments in which AXPack1 is included and can be used to build applications. |
||
| ALP | Active Local Pages - Powerful environment for desktop applications that may run on stand-alone or/and connected machines, directly from removable media (autorun). Includes ALP engine, ALP Frame browser (browser application), ALPInstall (installer tool you can use to re-distribute your work) and so on. The applications can be written by employing Active Server Pages compatible (built-in), CGI compatible (built-in) and other WEB technologies, but they do not require, nor use the network! | ALP start page |
| IE ScriptBar | newObjects IE ScriptBar is a development set for building toolbars/toolbands for Microsoft Internet Explorer (5.0 and later) in script and/or VB/C++ etc. Any developer with average skills in VBScript/JScript can create nice looking and powerful IE toolbar/toolband applications that integrate with the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser. The sophisticated parts of the work remain hidden because they are performed by the ScriptBar DLL, you write only what does the actual work. | IE ScriptBar page |
| ASP Compiler | ASP Compiler combines several features. One (which is obvious from the name) is compiling ASP pages to DLL (through VB), but there are other features which may be even more useful - such as Compile Time Scripting (CTS) which gives the developer the opportunity to build conversion, content generation, code generation projects. This can be used to create static content from databases, create simple pages from complex template-like pages that use includes, internal variables, tags and so on. The CTS looks a bit like the client side scripting (often associated with JavaScript), but it is executed during the project build and produces results in the output files - which is the way you can produce static or even active content by implementing your own extensions to the build process. | ASPC page |
| AXGate | ActiveX Gate allows the developers write complex applications in HTML using the Pocket Internet Explorer in Pocket PC 2003 (Windows Mobile 2003) and later. AXGate features security profiles that allow both usage of almost any ActiveX you need in a WEB page and security measures that will guarantee the device safety. | AXGate page |
| Script Service | Write Windows service in script. The service is not just executed in the background but it is also alive and accessible for the other COM applications on the same machine and they can call it/use it as a central coordinator for some activities, scheduler for long lasting tasks and so on. | Script Service page |
| There are also other
products of ours that are not listed here or products that may benefit from external tools built for them using the AXPack1 Family. |
||
* - This version supports a few additional features available only on the Pocket PC 2002 platform and later. To keep the re-distributions clean we recommend using the standard PPC binaries for public applications. This special edition is recommended for private/internal applications only.
** - Note that the user interface of the MicroHost application included is not suitable for smartphone platforms and other platforms without touch screen or a pointing device. If you need the script host get the smartphone version. The library files (DLL) have no user interface and are not platform specific and will work correctly on any CE.NET based platform - including smartphone.
Quick information
Requirements
Windows CE version of the newObjects ActiveX Pack1 family officially supports Windows CE 3.0, CE.NET and later. This includes Pocket PC, Pocket PC 2002, 2003/SE and later, Smartphone platforms and other variants of the Windows CE/CE.NET OS - WEB pads, tablets etc.
The general requirement for newObjects ActiveX Pack1 Family components on Windows CE/CE.NET is the Standard SDK and COM support, of course. However for the most popular version of the Windows CE - the Pocket PC 2000/2002/2003 there is a special edition which is also able to use some features provided by the Pocket PC shell. On the devices without standard shell (where the manufacturer may choose to put custom shell or no shell at all) we cannot count on the shell features and the standard versions for non-specific Windows CE do not include these features (see also the comments further in this page).
Notes: Although the CE versions will run also on Pocket PC-s it is strongly recommended to use the special Pocket PC version of the DLL - especially if you want to re-distribute it with your products.
Special version for PocketPC 2002 and later is available (includes also version information support for example). The Pocket PC versions are also compatible with Pocket PC 2002, Windows Mobile 2003/SE and further. The NetStreams and SQLite COM support exactly the same functionality on all the platforms.
On Windows Mobile 2003 and later VBScript language is often not pre-installed. It is included with the eVB runtime files - see this page:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/mobility/windowsmobile/downloads/evb.aspx
To install VBScript language to your device you will actually need only the vbscript.dll from them if you are not going to use the eVB as development environment. Also you can get the vbscript.dll from the corresponding SDK (for pocket pc devices you can get it from older SDK-s - such as PPC2002 or even PPC2000).
Installation notes
The PC version has an installer that also installs the NDL (newObejcts Development Library) documentation, SDK materials for different purposes. There are packages for PC only and PC + Pocket PC. The combined package also allows installation of the ActiveX Pack1 through Active Synch to Pocket PC and compatible devices (PPC 2000/2002/2003/SE and so on).
For the other platforms the ZIP files above contain only the binary files - the newobjectspack1.dll and the nwmicrohost.exe. You can include them in your installation packages or install them manually on the device.
Manual installation:
You need to copy and register the newobjectspack1.dll and optionally the NetStreams.dll and the SQLITECOMUTF8.DLL (if you are going to use them too) on your device. The location is not important, however you should prefer non-removable storage if the device has extended amount of internal memory. The nwmicrohost.exe (Micro Script Host) does not require COM registration and also supports COM DLL registration/unregistration (you can register the DLL files through it). Copy it to the device, start it there and look in the "Tools" menu for the register/unregister COM DLL options.
When installing manually note that you must register the DLL before running any scripts. Failing to do so will cause the host to issue errors.
After installation you may need some samples to test and see how the Micro Script Host works. You can download a little package with several samples here.
If you are new to Windows CE.
In contrast to the desktop Windows OS Windows CE (Compact edition) is not a monolith package you get and install on a random device. The manufacturers of the device compile an image of the OS for their device and they may include or not include certain features of the OS in it. For example they may choose between IE full browser, Pocket IE and no browser at all. Therefore knowing that you have Windows CE on your device does not give you complete information about what you have there.
However there are standard OS "sets" dedicated for certain device types. Microsoft advertises them as operating systems for certain device types, but they are nothing else but standard set of Windows CE features plus a few specific features. Of course, the end-user does not need to know deep details about this - it is more convenient to have a separate name for each OS "set" in order to avoid the total confusion of the end-users. This is why Microsoft decided to name for example "Pocket PC" the Windows CE 3.0 standard set for pocket devices. Almost all the Pocket sized Windows CE devices are Pocket PC based. There are only a few popular exceptions - like Casio BE300 which is Windows CE 3.0 based but is not Pocket PC compatible.
If you are going to develop software for Windows CE/CE.NET I strongly recommend you consult the Microsoft documentation and learn about the OS variants ("sets"). .
Aside of that there is a so called "Standard SDK" which is included in the most variants of the OS. It is excluded only on some very specific devices which are not designed for the retail market (for example industry control devices, embedded computers in certain machines - ovens, washing machines etc.). Anyway even in such specific areas the manufacturers include it if they are not too restricted by the available memory space. It is the only requirement for AXPack1 Family which means the family is compatible with virtually all the devices on the market.
COM specifics: As you may already know there is no FileSystemObject for Windows CE and the ActiveX Pack1 is the only alternative. It fills many gaps - supports not only file access but also OLE files, useful structural features (dictionaries/collections, configuration files), DB-like access over flat files (separate feature from the full SQL database engine supplied by SQLite COM component of the family), custom script hosting, even handling background threads running scripts. However Windows CE lacks one very important COM feature we all use without noticing on the desktops - Single threaded COM apartments and Out-of-process COM objects sharing (access objects shared by other applications). This means there is no application automation opportunities from an external process, nor opportunity to use simple solutions for some in-process COM tricks. You will find out that there are no Pocket Excel/Word objects shared for external applications. If you look at the HKEY_CLASES_ROOT on your device you will see that the COM objects registered are only a few. So, you can hardly count on the COM objects you know from the Desktop - the ActiveX Pack1, ADO (which is optional), Pocket Outlook and several other COM objects supplied by other vendors are almost all you have to work with.
Redistribution policies for Windows CE/CE.NET devices
The newObjects ActiveX Pack1 is FREEWARE unless it is put in the system ROM/flash ROM by the manufacturer (if you are interested in including it into your device image please contact us). However there are certain technical considerations which are intended to simplify the re-distribution and help the developers avoid potential compatibility problems now and in the future. Here are the reasons we have in mind:
1. As far as it is possible we want to have a minimal number of different binary distributions compatible with as many devices as possible.
2. The re-distributed binaries should be "replaceable" without problem by the new versions. In other words there must be only one standard binary distribution for each type of device.
3. Advanced versions that benefit of all the specific features of a specific platform, but incompatible with the most other similar platforms should not be re-distributed with downloadable public software.
Specific versions for specific platforms can be obtained, but the developers who use them should pay attention to the way they re-distribute them. For example you must avoid misleading the users download an application designed for a custom WEB pad device to a Pocket PC device. Even if your current version is compatible with the both devices a little change in a later version may cause incompatibility with the Pocket PC devices and the users may complain about that.
Micro Script Host (Also called shortly Microhost) notes:
The simple script host distributed with the newObjects ActiveX Pack1 Family also follows the version guidelines listed above. However it is intended for developers and slight incompatibilities are a bit more tolerable. For example Windows CE general version can be installed on Pocket PC and the only problem will be a slight inconvenience with its user interface. Anyway please re-distribute the binary from the appropriate distribution package if possible.
What is not supported in the Windows CE version:
Only the IniFile and SFShellLink components are not supported from the PC version on any Windows CE platform. Instead of the IniFile you should use the most powerful ConfigFile object to store UDS data which is also cross-platform compatible and can be used for much wider variety of purposes (in fact it can be used even as XML alternative in many applications).
SFMain.GetSpecialPath is supported only on some platforms (Pocket PC).
SFMain.GetVersionInfo is not supported except in the special versions of the DLL for Pocket PC 2002.
COMThread and COMApartment objects must not be used to run scripts on Windows CE devices because of the Windows CE lack of support for single threaded COM apartments. Instead you can run scripts in background threads using the COMScriptThread object which is cross-platform compatible and does not require help from the system COM facilities to synchronize the script calls. However there is no such limitation if you want to call time consuming methods of COM objects written in C++ in a separate thread.
Is there support for earlier Windows CE versions (such as Windows CE 2.11)?
Officially no, but we have functional versions for some devices based on CE 2.11 (such as Handheld PC Pro) and we will publish some of them if someone is interested (If you can't see them here - please ask). Versions earlier than CE 2.11 cannot supported at all. Note that on Windows CE 2.11 some of the features may not work properly - you should test carefully.
Device manufacturers
If you need a version especially built for your device - without some features for instance please contact us.
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